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Saturday, January 23, 2016

We Dreamed Of This Freedom

Do you remember - probably at moments when your irrational parents denied your request to have ONLY a Cadbury Fruit & Nut and a Coke for dinner and made you eat something horrid, like real food - a certain pledge you made to yourself?

(I'll pause while you fight back the feelings of resentment this has brought up.)

And then do you remember discussing in great deal with your friends the wide variety of candy and delightful baked goods you'd be having for dinner EVERY SINGLE NIGHT when you grew up?

The ferocity of that vow was so intense - we swore this again and again, while enduring the mania of our oppressors, who were so deranged as to think that SPINACH was an appropriate source of evening nutrition.

We marked the days until our all Now & Later & Pop Rocks dinners on the walls of our minds, like POWs.

And then - oddly - sometime in between those moments and real adulting, we all forgot that the whole POINT of surviving to adulthood is so that you can have candy for dinner.

What a cruel amnesia that is.

But tonight, I saw a post from my friend Vanessa that gave me hope that we call all still live the life we dreamed of as little tots.

This is the photo she posted of her dinner.

She's living the dream we all dreamed.

We longed for this night as children, and she made it happen.

Let's not forget what it was like to be 7 and dream of what adulting would be like. Let's get out our crayons, our Lucky Charms and a nice cabernet and just retreat from the boring spinach-filled evenings every now and then. Life is short, and it should be magically delicious. Thank you, Vanessa, for this carpe diem moment.

I went to a crafty lunch with my sister yesterday - we vow to do these and then don't make enough time. We need to - they are fun.

I became briefly delusional, and somehow thought I was going to watercolor 20 roses over my lunch break, but that was nutty. I finished exactly one. But I like it!

The stamp image is from the Rose Wonder Bundle - gorgeous set with beautiful, intricate dies - and I stamped it in Daffodil Delight so that I could no-line watercolor. I used my Koi Watercolor to do that.

Really fun and relaxing to do. I love the BIG canvas of this image - I like the freedom to blend color in larger images.

I am excited because I have some new students coming and I always love people who are new to stamping catching the bug!

Oh and I have an AMAZING recipe for you - I made these this week after having them at an event and they are incredible! You do need a food processor for this recipe, which I realize is out of character for me.

In a large food processor fitted with an “S” blade, process the cashews and coconut until crumbly. Add in the dates, coconut oil, vanilla and sea salt and process again until a sticky, uniform batter is formed.

Scoop
the dough by heaping tablespoons, then roll between your hands to form
balls. Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then
place in the freezer to set for at least an hour before serving. Store
the balls in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week, or in
the freezer for an even longer shelf life....................................................................................................................

Then I also have two book recommendations for you - they are both GREAT recommendations from friends, and I will now always listen to these friends. Big Magic - a fantastic book about creativity and the creative process, and Born With Teeth - a memoir, read by the author, Kate Mulgrew.

When I get home from class I might just have a dinner of Pop Rocks in my blanket fort.

15 comments:

<3. I always love how you reconnect my head to my heart and more importantly my inner child. Also good to know that lucky charms goes well with a red wine. I'm willing to be it would be equally delicious with a gin and tonic. (I'd probably skip the milk though and just eat the cereal dry... and then depending on how big the G & T was, I might wake up and find some of those lucky charm marshmallows in strange places. Like stuck to my forehead. What did you think I meant?)

This is breathtaking! I could look at this all day. You make me smile thinking that you were going to color 20 during lunch break!!! Recently we dined at a "new to us" restaurant and they bake the most amazing turnovers, HUGE, soft, delicious. The server suggested we eat dessert first because we could always reheat our supper but the turnovers didn't really reheat. We did and it was fun!

Another beauty. In college, I once suggested to my boyfriend at the time that we have banana splits for dinner. He looked at me aghast and said "We can't have ice cream for DINNER!" Needless to say, I broke up with him.

Now I feel as though I must go to the store and buy those Lucky Charms!!! Oh how we deny ourselves the joys of life with our adult reasonings! Thank you for reminding us that life is too short and we must take the time to enjoy the little things! Love, love, love your watercoloring! It truly is a work of art!

Well you have done it again!!! Awesomeness in words and cards! You are a true blessing to all of us and I think I can say we all Love you. Keep up the good work as we all wait for your posts with baited breath!!!!!!

Glad you enjoyed Born With Teeth -- I'm now listening to Five Days at Memorial - have you read it? It's blowing me away. I just hope I have enough time to get through it before my book club on Thursday. Your card is lovely.

I love your posts, I read all the way to the end. Today I was enjoying kale salad from your recipe, BTW, but this recipe calls for cashews and then instructs us to put walnuts in the food processor. I'm just sayin'.....

Every time you leave a comment, a new LOLcat is born. ALSO - don't panic if you don't see your comment right away - I moderate my comments to keep those spammers out, so your comment will show up in short order. Unless you're linking me to Russian brides or Nigerian princes.

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Hi. I'm Lydia. I'm the Community Manager at Splitcoast by day, an artist, a teacher and an animal lover in every other moment. I do participate in affiliate programs at Stampin' Up! and Blick Art Materials and others, and may receive small compensation when you purchase using my links, at no additional cost to you.

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